Box and barrel truck.



A. WOL LBRANDT.

BOX AND BARREL TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. I916.

WITNESS Qc/ds. 174- 1 .1 ATTORNEYS.

:AKSFM a A. WOLLBRANDT.

BOX AND BARREL TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17.12am.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR. QJMM awcmadaz... -41: ATTORNEYS.

WITNESS A. WOLLBRANDT.

BOX AND BARREL TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. 1915.

Patented Oct. 31,1916.

3 $HEETS-SHEET 3.

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INVENTOR.

AUGUST WOLLBRANDT, 0F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,

BOX Ann BARREL TRUCK.

\ Application filed January 17, 1916. i Serial No. 72,399.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST WVOLLBRANDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Box and Barrel Trucks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for lifting and moving objects, especiallybarrels, boxes, and the like, and has for its object the provision of a manually operated device of the described class, by means of which one man may easily and quickly lift and move about, from place to place, objects of great weight.

The device is intended to take the place of the usualtwo-wheeled hand truck, the use of which necessitates the tipping or partial lifting of the object to place it upon the truck, and careful balancing thereofduring the moving operation. No such tipping or partial lifting of the object is required in the use of the apparatus embodying the present invention, for the reason that said apparatus is provided with semi-automatic devices for engaging, lifting and supporting the object, by means of which an object of great weight may be raised several inches with comparatively little physical effort on the part of the operator.

In order to comprehend the invention, ref erence should be had to the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, certain parts being broken away and others shown in section for the sake of clcarnessr Fig. 2 is a partly broken longitudinal section taken on the line a.=:r of Fig. 1, and viewed in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a partly broken transverse section taken on the. line 2 1 of Fig. 1, and viewed in the direction of the arrows. Figrtis a part sectional detail view. enlarged, of the upper end of the steering head. Fig. 5 is a diagrann'imtic view of the. barrel engaging de- (iccs and their operating means.

In the drawings. and referring particu-' larly to Figs. 1. 2 and 3 thereof. the numeral 1 designates a substantialtv U-shaped horizontally disposed frame. carried upon two wheels 2 at the rear and one swiveled wheel 3 at the front thereof. larallel to the side members '1. of said frame. and located inside thereof and spaced therefrom. are inner frame members it. Plates .3 cover the space Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

between said inner and outer side frame members. The central space-between the inner frame members MS of sufiicient width to accommodate the largest barrel, box, or other object which the truck is designed to carry.

Adjacent to the inner face of each inner frame member 4 is a vertically disposed plate 8, adapted for vertical movement, and held in position by vertical bars 9 connected at 10 to said plate 8, and extending down through apertures 11 in the cover plate 5 and lying behind, or adjacent to the outer face of said inner frame member 4. The lower ends of these vertical bars 9 are united by a horizontal member 12 having formed in .its lower surfacerecesses 13, Fig. 2 of the drawings, adapted to rlde upon a pair of eccentric cams 14 located between the frame members 1 and 4, and pivoted upon pins 15 secured to said frame members.

The eccentric cams 14 are rotated by lever-arms 16, connected by upwardly extending links 17 to bell-cranks 18 fulcrumed at 19 upon a fixed plate 20 secured to and extending upwardly from the side frame member 1, and said bell-cranks are connected by a horizontal forwardly extending link 21. to one end of a cross bar 22, and preferably further connected thereto by a brace 22. The other arm of the U-shaped frame 1 carries a set of mechanism identical with that described above, and connected to the opposite end of the cross bar 22. The center of said cross baris pivotally connected at 23, Figs. 2 and 1 of the drawings, to the short armQl of a bell-crank, the other arm 25 of which is extended a sufficient distance to form a handle, not shown in the drawings. by means of which the principal functions of the track are performed. Thus by raising the handle bar 25 from the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. the links 21 are moved rearwardly. the eccentric cams 11 are rotated. through the bell-cranks 1S and the links 17, to the left, and the structures comprising the vertical plates 8 and the bars 9 are thereby lowered. Each of said structures carries a set of movable jaws or dogs. PI'Q'fCltll')l V four in number. The upper two dogs :26 are pivotally connected at 27, Figs 2 and 3 of the drawings. to the upper ends of the vertical bars 9; the lower dogs 26 are loosely keyed in apertures '29 in the plate 8. and are persliding movement therein. Each upper dog 1 ing the inclination of the links and 33.

The forward links 33 are fixed at their lower ends upon a transverse rock-shaft 3%, the center of which is connected, through a lever 35 and a link 36, Fig. 2 of the drawings, to a hand lever 37. Thus it will be seen that movement of the hand lever 37 rocks the shaft 34, which raises and lowers the horizontal bar 31, and, by the engagement of the dogs 26 therewith, also raises and lowers the free ends of said dogs. The

lower dogs 26 are, of course, moved substantially in unison with the upper dogs 26 by the jointed links 29.

\Vhen it is desired to lift and carry a barrel, box or other similar object upon the truck, said truck is backed up so that it straddles the barrel, which then occupies the position indicated by the numeral 38 in Figs. 1, 3 and 5 of the drawings. The handlebar 25 is then raised, to lower the plates 8 and the dogs :26 and 26 carried thereby.

The hand lever 37is then moved rearward,

to lower the free ends of said dogs to permit the same to engage the sides of the barrel 38, as shown in Fig 5 of the drawings, and indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The handle bar is then lowered again to its horizontal position to raise the plates 8, and

thebarrel 38, being engaged by the dogs 26 and 26, is thereby lifted and its weight entirely supported by the truck, which an then be wheeled about as desired. v

For moving objects that cannot be engaged by the dogs '26 and 26', a removable tioor plate-3), Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, is provided for the space between the side frame members. and which rests upon inwardly extending flanges l0 formed at the I lower edges of the lifting plates 8. \Vhen said plates are in their lowermost position, the floor 39 is very close to the ground, and the object may be placed thereon with comparatively little effort. Said floor plate 39, with the object thereon, is raised by means of the handle bar 25, as described above, to clear the ground, and the truck may then be moved about as in the previous case.

The handle bar 2-3, with its perpendicular lever arm 24. is pivoted at #11, Figs. '2 and 5 of the drawings, upon the upper end of the post -12 which carries the for and wheel 3, and which is rotatably mounted in the truck frame at 43, Fig. .2. swivel joint is interposed at H, which is in vertical alinethe handle bar 25 is raised, to lower the lifting mechanism. the swivel 43 and H are thrown out of liii a and the post 42 is locked against rotation.

The invention has herein been described and illustrated in its preferred form. It is obvious, however, that changes may be made in the form and construction of the device,

without involving the essential principles of the invention. I therefore do not w1sh to limit myself in this regard, but on the contrary, I wish to be understood as claiming the invention as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters latent is:

1. A device for the described purpose comprising a bifurcated frame, vertically movable lifting means mounted thereon, a plu rality of dogs carried by said lifting means and adapted to grip the sides of and sup-. port an object positioned between the arms of said frame, and mechanism for operating said lifting means. 7

A device for the described purpose comprising a bifurcated frame, movable lifting means mounted thereon, a plurality of shiftable dogs carried by said lifting means, mechanism for operating said lifting means, and devices for o ierating said dogs to cause the same to engage the sides of an object positioned between the arms of said f 'ame.

3. A device for the described purpose comprising a bifurcated frame supported upon wheels, one of which is carried by a horizontally rotatable steeringhead; a steering handle carried by said head; a plurality of shiftable dogs associated with said frame and operatable to engage the sides of an object positioned between the arms thereof; and means connected with said steering handle for raising and lowering said dogs and the object engaged thereby.

4. In a device for the described purpose having a bifurcated frame, a vertically movable member carricd by each arm of said frame, a plurality of dogs pivotally connected with said members and extending inwardly therefrom. means for adjusting said dogs relative to said members to cause them to engage the sides of an object positioned between the arms of said frame, and means for moving said members to raise and lower Said object.

5. In a device for the described purpose having a bifurcated frame. a plurality of upwardly inclined dogs projecting inwardly from the arms of said frame, means for adjusting the inner ends of said dogs to cause them to engage the sides of an object positioned between the arms of said frame,and,

means for bodily raising said dogs and the object engaged thereby relative to said frame 1 6. In a device for thedescribed purpose one wheel ithereofbeing mounted upon a swivel and provided with a handle for steering, a vertically movable member carri ed by each arm of said frame; rneans connected with and operated by saidsteering handle for raising and lowering said memi irame. having a bifurcated wheel-supported frame,

hers; and a plurality of inwardly projecting dogsfcarried by each of said members, said dogs. being adapted'to grip the sides of an 15 

